Introduction to East Asian Civilizations: Japan

Week 7
 

Arnoldus Montanus, Bird's-eye View of the Man-made Island Dejima. Amsterdam, 1669.		   Like the Japanese daimyo, lords of provincial domains throughout Japan, the Dutch merchants who were permitted to reside on the island of Deshima in Nagasaki harbor were required to journey to Edo to pay homage to the shogun. Initially an annual requirement, the Dutch processions to Edo became less frequent during eighteenth century. Two images of such processions are found below.

 

 Procession of the Dutch to Edo. Edo period, early ninteenth century. Woodblock print; ink and color on paper. Collection of William and Florence Leonhart.
     

Engelbert Kaempfer, The Dutch Retinue on its Journey to Edo (Tokyo). London, 1727.

  
 
 

Five Beggars Studying Confucian Texts. Sant Kyden, (1789). Illustrations from Kibyshi, sharebon-sh (Tokyo, 1958).

  Political satire was given free reign in the "yellow covers" genre of small booklets (kiboyshi), and authorities responded by punishing only some of the satirists here and there, almost pro forma. One of those manacled and thrown into jail for a short while was Sant Kyden (1761-1816), a professional satirist whose targets included preachy Confucianism and any illustrations that Confucians might have had about the relevance of their teachings for society. One short work by Kyden (both text and illustrations) presents a mock discussion of Confucian passages, again and again misunderstood by five beggars. Their tense probing faces betraying deep thought, they try to make sense of hallowed passages, but from their down-to-earth perspective.
 
 

The great warlord is shown in traditional courtier robes and cap rather than formal samurai costume or armor. He holds a ceremonial scepter, conventional in portraits of warriors, but the only indication of his samurai status is the long sword tucked into his robes. Such a portrait would normally have been commissioned exclusively for family members to use in memorial services for the deceased. But Ieyasu was widely venerated as the Buddhist-Shinto deity Tsh Daigongen (Great Incarnation Illuminating the East), and images were made in great number throughout the Edo period based on portraits made immediately after his death in 1616. The altarlike curtains, raised platform with red lacquer pillars, and guardian lion-dogs, reminiscent of a shrine setting, contribute to the aura of religiosity. The background landscape may be an imaginary early view of the shrine complex at Nikk, the site of Ieyasu's mausoleum.

  

Portrait of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Early seventeenth century. Hanging scroll: ink and color on silk, 82.9 X 41.3, University Museum, Faculty of Letters, Kyoto University

March 1

Helmet with Symbolic Tower. Eighteenth century.

 

This helmet is surmounted by a symbolic Buddhist tower, which is usually made of five parts to represent the five cosmic elements: earth, water, fire, wind, and nothingness or ultimate reality (mu). In Esoteric Buddhism three or five such forms may be related to the human body and are also used for tombstones.

This piece is inscribed "Namu Amida butsu," the invocation of the Pure Land Buddhist sect, and it is pierced with a Sanskrit character. A crest with the Japanese character tsuchi (ground) appears on both sides, Although the tower appears unwieldy, it is a light construction of wood covered with a "corroded-effect" lacquer (sabinuri) with gold dust, and it would not be uncomfortable to wear. The helmet was made for a devout Buddhist, Matsudaira Sadamoto (1686-1759).

Iron, wood, and lacquer. Height of helmet bowl, 16.9 cm. Kyoto National Museum.
 
 

Composed of iron plates covered with thick red lacquer, the armor is laced together with smoke-tanned leather bindings. The suit is of tosei gusoku type, which was fashionable from the Muromachi period. The armor covers almost the whole body, but it is lightweight overall in keeping with the freedom of movement required.

Iron, lacquer, silk, wood, leather, and gold leaf. Height of cuirass and skirt, 70 cm. Hikone Castle Museum, Shiga.

  

Armor with giant horns made for Ii Naotaka. Seventeeth century.

 
 

Helmet in the Form of a Turbo Shell. Early seventeenth century.

  

This helmet is basically a simple iron bowl on which paper (washi) is built up into the helical form of the turbo shell and covered with gold leaf. The shell of the turbo is thick and spiked to protect it against predators, and such helmets were thus thought to give the wearer confidence and to disquiet his enemies. Despite its bulky appearance, the helmet is light and designed for use in battle. Helmets of such exotic form were fashionable during the later part of the Muromachi and Momoyama periods, when an individual could rise in status through his own prowess in battle.

Iron, lacquer, paper, and gold leaf. Height of helmet bowl, 18.6 cm. Tokyo National Museum.
 
 

The basic form of the Japanese saddle and stirrups changed between the Heian and Edo periods. The saddle is composed of four pieces, the pomel, the cantle, and two components that make up the seat. The pieces are tied together with cord, producing a structure that is highly resistant to shock. The configuration of the saddle allowed the rider to stand in the stirrups, gripping the saddle with his legs, in order to discharge arrows or wield his cutting weapons. Only the highest ranking samurai were permitted to keep riding horses during the Edo period, and their saddles and stirrups were often lavishly decorated, as these are. The stirrups are of iron with wooden inset bases. Both saddle and stirrups are lacquered with a design of white powder, but for those who could afford the luxury, dried nightengale droppings were considered more elegant. Gold lacquer dust was applied in various thickness to the adventurine ground to give depth to the picture.

Saddle of lacquer over wood with makie. Stirrups of iron, and lacquer over wood with makie. Height of saddle, 38 cm. Tokyo National Museum.

  

Saddle and Stirrups with Cosmetic Brush Design. Eighteenth century.
 
 

Pair of Sword Guards with Carp Design. Dated 1843.

  

These sword guards are embellished with inlaid high-relief black alloy shakud carp, which have details of gold. The ground is of polished shibuichi (literally, "one part in four"), an alloy of silver that is one quarter copper. The stream is depicted with the katakiri bori technique, in which oblique cuts of the chisel suggest brush painting. Katakiri bori was popularized around the seventeenth century by town carvers, craftsmen who were not retained by the warrior houses and who thus sold their works on the open market.

Shakud, gold, and shibuichi. Height 7.9 cm; 7.4 cm. Tokyo National Museum.
 

These sword guards for a matching pair of long and short swords are decorated with spring and autumn flowers, plants, and insects inlaid in colored metals on a shakud ground. The ground is covered with a regular linear array of small raised protuberances known as nanako (fish roe), formed with a hollow-tipped punch; the flowers and insects are sculpted separately and set into sections cut below the surface.

Shakud, copper, silver, and gold. Height 8 cm; 7.5 cm. Tokyo National Museum.

  

Pair of Sword Guards with Flowers, Plants, and Insects. Dated 1857.